Dead Animal Composting – an Option to Burial and Incineration

Even well managed livestock operations will experience animal mortality. Livestock producers tend to lose some of their animals due to diseases, extreme temperature, accidents, floods or fire. The most common types of disposal of animal carcasses are through burial or incineration because of the increasing costs of rendering and the distance of the rendering facility. However, burial of animal carcasses usually have adverse effects on soil and groundwater while hazardous emissions is the common complaint against incineration. An option to the disposal of animal carcasses is dead animal composting which is cost effective and environmentally safe and sound.

What is dead animal composting?

In composting, microorganisms like bacteria and fungi do the work of converting organic material into a stabilized product called the compost. In dead animal composting, you have to create an environment for the microorganisms to do their job quickly and effectively. The process of composting requires a bin and bulking agents like straw and sawdust which is placed around the carcasses. At least 3 composting bins are used in a livestock farm:

-        Primary bin in the process of being filled

-        Another primary bin for the first heat cycle of composting

-        A secondary bin for the second heat cycle

The new carcasses and bulking agents are added into the first bin until it is full. This pile is left to compost and new carcasses are layered into the second bin with bulking agents. After the first bin has completed its first heat cycle, it is turned by moving it into a third bin and is left to compost for the second heat cycle. About this time, the second bin will probably be full and left to compost. A new pile is started on the first bin which is now empty. After the first pile has been fully composted, it can either be stored or spread on crop fields as fertilizer. It takes at least 7 to 24 weeks for the carcasses to compost completely. The amount of time is usually dependent on several factors like bulking agent used, temperature, moisture, management and the size of the carcasses.

Advantages of dead animal composting

-        Biosecure – the high temperature in the compost bins kills all kinds of pathogens. The spread of diseases is minimized since there is a year-round disposal of carcasses. The farm is free from contamination because composting in on-site and does not require transport that can spread diseases.

-        Environmentally friendly – in the bulking agent, aerobic microorganisms degrade the materials to odor-free carbon dioxide and water. The heat kills common viruses and bacteria present in the animal carcass. Dead animal composting does not contaminate soil and groundwater. Waste is turned into fertilizer or soil amendment.

-        Cost effective – dead animal composting has low to moderate startup and operating costs. The main cost is in building the structure but existing buildings in the farm can be renovated. Bulking agents are readily available on farms; however, you might be required to purchase a skid steer loader to handle the carcasses and compost.

-         Easy to accomplish – dead animal composting only requires minimal training and good management. Farmers who have had experience with composting takes about 10 minutes to manage the process.